The Everlasting Doxey Pool

I first became aware of The Roaches, a
rocky outcrop in Staffordshire midway between the towns of Leek and
Buxton, when I was a pilot in training with the RAF. In those days we
were sent out solo from our base at Woodvale on "Cross Country"
exercises. The only problem was that I hadn't yet got my instrument
rating. The Roaches, not 500 metres high, had a habit of pulling down
the cloud base, and the whole exercise became one of avoiding the
area whilst flying below the clouds.

Now, I know The Roaches as a training
ground for rock climbers, although arthritis now eliminates that
sport for me. At the very top of the The Roaches is the Doxey Pool
(see below. That is Kate in the background.) We have never seen it
dry, even when the reservoirs in the valley below have been empty in
the recent drought years. The pool is, in fact, a dew pond, and even
in the height of a hot summer, with cloudless skies, there is
sufficient dew in the morning to keep the pool full. The Doxey pool
is not as well known as the nearby Mermaid Pool, perhaps because the
Doxey doesn't have a nearby public house named after it!

..............

The pool is named after the daughter
of Bess Bower of Rock Hall. One night, it is said, "strange men came
and carried her off, and Bess died of grief." Talking of strange men,
the self-styled Lord of the Roaches lived at Rock Hall as a recluse
until recently. Rock Hall itself used to look grim, as if it really
belonged to a Gothic novel. Its recent conversion to a
guest-house, however, has made it quite friendly, and a good place to
stay.